Product Description

Product Description

Based on Verdi's opera Aida, this recording includes some of the biggest talents in pop, country, and R&B. Another Pyramid : Sting; Written in the Stars : Elton John & Leann Rimes; Easy as Life : Tina Turner; My Strangest Suit : Spice Girls; I Know the Truth : Elton John & Janet Jackson; Not Me : Boyz II Men; A Stop Too Far : Shania Twain; Elaborate Lives : Lenny Kravitz; How I Know You : James Taylor; The Messenger : Elton John & Lulu, and more.

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Following hot on the heels of their enormously successful collaboration for The Lion King, Elton John and Tim Rice have once again culled their talents to create another Disney contemporary musical, based this time on Verdi's opera Aida. The album, recorded by some of the biggest talents of pop, country, and R&B, features songs from the stage show, which recounts the well-known tale of a love triangle further complicated by slavery, royalty, and the armed forces. John duets to great effect with country crooner LeAnn Rimes, the enchanting Janet Jackson, and the lovely Lulu of To Sir with Love fame. Lush and lively, the soundtrack hits a hoot of a (decidedly not highbrow) high point with the infectious pop of the Spice Girls warbling the merits of undergarments on "My Strongest Suit" ("Always wear underwear/Anytime, anywhere"). Lenny Kravitz funks things up with "Like Father Like Son." Shania Twain's husky emoting makes a fine pop ballad of the brief "Amneris' Letter." "Not Me" chronicles the goodness of love as Boyz II Men coo dreamily, their harmonies nestling into John's sumptuous score. --Paige La Grone

Most helpful customer reviews

It takes so much to try to get a musical to make its way upon Broadway. Sometimes you really need to understand how to make it really happen within the passion of the storytelling music. In that case with Elton John, he nearly seemed to make it with Aida. While the music for Broadway always seems to have at least something completely mgaical and a dash of power in it. Sometimes, you really need to understand it, to make it happen, and others don't see it from the start. Although Elton John has had great music for years, at least once in a era, something goes a little flat.The 1999 Aida, was not a studio album from Elton, but a preview from what was happen on Broadway. The various artists record contains so many different artists in the record including Tina Turner, Boyz II Men, Dru Hill, and the upcoming Heather Headley. Before Heather made it as a singer, she made it right here in Aida, on this record. The only decent song that was a hit was Written In The Stars, which Elton performed with Leann Rimes. The song was also the last song Elton cracked Billboard's Top 40. Still, there really wasn't a lot of enjoyment within most of the record, and it fell into a sleeper. Considering that Elton is already planning on making another smash musical on Broadway, hopefully he'll do better with the concept record.When it does come to making it on Broadway, it isn't really anything exciting, unless it truly is a smash, and Aida is a smash on Broadway, just not the record. Still, if you're a die hard fan of Aida, buy this record. Otherwise, it could be a hitless miss.

Aida was Elton John and Tim Rice's baby, providing a concept soundtrack album before even setting the stage on fire, the tracks are generally sweeping show ballads. Elton teams up with several lovely and talented ladies, in LeAnn Rimes, Janet Jackson, and Lulu. "Written In The Stars" could be a vocal gladiator battle, the way LeAnn and Elton sing it. Janet and Lulu prove themselves as more mellow duet partners. Kelly Price makes "The Gods Love Nubia" her own, the song is tied up in soul with her voice being smooth as silk. The far too short "Amneris' Letter" shows off Shania Twain's voice to perfection also. Pop culture phenomenon the Spice Girls turn "My Strongest Suit" into the most obvious pop stomper of this set. Another strong point is Heather Headley's solo "Elaborate Lives". A rich ballad, Headley recently embarked on an R&B singing career with the track "He Is". The legendary Tina Turner provides a fiery perfomance, her track being the powerful "Easy As Life" with Angelique Kidjo. Duds are also present, Sting and Dru Hill's tracks are admitted stinkers. James Taylor, Boyz II Men, Sherie Scott, and Lenny Kravitz also deliver perfomances on the album. This album is well put together, with strong tunes and a short-list of superstars presenting them. A fun buy.

I recently went to see Aida on Broadaway (the one with Heather Headley and Sherie Scott). Heather Headley was unbelievable. Her voice was beautiful, she was passionate and she really put her heart into her character. I bought this CD without really looking at it, thinking, oh goody I can now listen to all of these songs. The songs from Aida are fantastic - "Written in the Stars," "A Step Too Far," "Like Father Like Son..." There is a good mix of fun songs, like "My Strongest Suit," and sad songs like "Easy As Life." The opening number is fantastic too. (It's not on this CD.) I thought that the tracks with Elton John, Heather Headley or Sherie Scott on this copy were good, but most of the others were weak, such as Sting and Shania Twain. Lenny Kravitz and James Taylor did good renditions of "Like Father Like Son" and "How I Know You," respectively, but not as good as the version currently on Broadway. So my final opinion: Buy this CD if you can't wait to hear the songs, but the cast version is worth waiting for.

I saw "Aida" in previews on Broadway last night. I think it is one of the worst pieces of Broadway schlock to have been made in years. Elton John's songs are banal, they have no soul. The lyrics are trite. And the show itself is simply awful. There is no chemistry among the leads, the costumes and dancing are amateurish. The sets are nice. The opera by Verdi is great. There was no reason to try to re-make it, and the fact that it has been re-written so many times in previews is evidence of its troubles. Unfortunately for the arts, the ability of Disney to marshall its resources as a vanity producer will result in this being foisted on the public for a while, and because the arts have been dumbed-down and commercialized so much in recent years, many people don't know the difference between art and dreck. The cast album is not released yet; it is being released in June. The programs (and the concession stand) offer a coupon to pre-sell the CD and reserve the recording so it will be mailed to you when it is released. The "cast" record that people have been talking about is the "all star" recording that was issued last year in a baldfaced attempt to promote the musical.